Who Are We? The Tale of Two Lost Children
by iheartcrona123
Summary: Zuko has left his pursuit of the Avatar,and set up shop with his Uncle.One day,when helping a man,he learns of the Savior, a female street performer who is said to be an airbender.When Zuko meets her,he realizes that people in Ba Sing Se believe she is the Savior,yet she doesn't believe so.After saving her from her hellish life, they soon fall in love,and get caught into tragedy.
1. Chapter 1:The Beginning

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hello readers! This is my Avatar: The Last air bender story and I hope you guys (or gals) like it. It does have an OC character, but you should just be used to it by now. It is my first, um, romance story, if you can even call it that. I've been thinking up this story since the summer when I had this weird dream about an OC character and Zuzu. So, enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End**

The afternoon was the same as any other day: Boring. Zuko was sitting back on a wooden chair in his Uncle's teashop, waiting for someone to come in and order tea. Behind long bangs, Zuko's eyes kept their focus on the door, willing the first customer to come in. He bit his lip in annoyance, looking up at the ceiling as he tapped his finger rapidly against a wooden table.

As annoying as serving peasants was, anything was better than sitting and doing nothing; condemned to the drudgery of idle waiting. He was not used to the dullness of the tea shop—No; he would not get used to it! Despite the mind-numbing repetition that had become his existence. Prince Zuko would not settle for a dime, when his life should be worth a thousand gold pieces and more.

With a frown, he turned his attention to the kitchen, deciding that if customers refused to respond to his mental summons, perhaps his Uncle could be easier swayed. Surely, brewing his starting kettle of tea couldn't take that long?

Never one to let his nephew down, Uncle appeared to answer with his soft call: "Lee, come over here!"

Relieved for the simple distraction, but too proud to show it, Zuko heaved an annoyed sigh and made his way over to the kitchen. As expected, he found his uncle over a ceramic cup full with tea, a delighted smile on his face as he beamed down at it. Zuko wanted to scold his uncle for calling him by his disguised name, but decided against it, remembering that he living a new life. Iroh glanced up at Zuko, then back at the cup. A boiling kettle steamed next to Iroh on a stove. "It's beautiful, isn't it Zuko?"

Zuko scratched his head, then replied, "What, boiling tea? What's so special about that?"

Iroh turned to Zuko with shock in his eyes. "Everything!" he exclaimed as he put his hands on Zuko's shoulders his gaze friendly but intense, "this is our first cup of tea of the day, Zuko. And that means this tea will be served to our first customers!"

His tone, more than his words brought a lump to Zuko's throat. Iroh seemed so joyful, so kind, despite the pain he had gone through for Zuko's sake. Zuko felt almost guilty, seeing his Uncle's joyous smile despite the fact that they had close to nothing. Guilty as he was the cause of their current situation. He had brought this misery down on Iroh, by allowing his company for the last three years. Despite the fact that deep inside, Iroh most likely already knew that Zuko would never catch the Avatar. Zuko probably would have quit long ago if not for Iroh's constant presence to keep him strong.

Or was it even that? Zuko frowned. Was this feeling guilt at causing this, or despair at Uncle's simple acceptance? Despite all he had lost, and all because of his nephew. The great Dragon of the West had had it all—all the honor and glory Zuko had craved for since early childhood. But the man seemed more content without it then he had ever been with it. Zuko wasn't sure, and that only angered him; frustrated. Suddenly it really was too much to bear. Zuko turned to walk out the door, but managed to stop himself, eyes shifting to the ground.

"Uncle," he started, "could I, um, go out for a little while?" Iroh paused, looking up from his boiling kettle.

"Zuko," he said, forgetting for a moment about their disguised names, "of course. Just come back in around twenty minutes." Iroh's expression turned to simple bliss, "that's when we open, after all!"

Zuko smiled back, eyes narrowing, but failed to meet his Uncle's gaze "I'll be back soon," he said softly, then walked out of the kitchen, hands in pockets, out the shop's front door, and into the hum and drum of Ba Sing Se.

The first thing he noticed was the crowds. Hawkers and customers alike were shoving each other, trying to buy food and various materials, while others were trying to sell products. One elderly man, Zuko noticed, stood weeping next to one of the few actual stalls, or what was left of it. He gripped his hair in hands, down on his knees amongst the leaves and damaged vegetables. "My cabbages!" he cried, tears streaming from his eyes.

Zuko sighed, pushed his way through the crowds towards the man, and knelt down beside him, holding out his hand.

"Need help?" he asked.

The man looked up, surprise in his eyes, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Really?" he asked shakily.

Zuko attempted an answering smile, but knew he fell short, and probably was still stuck on bored. "Sure."

The man jumped up, his hands in the air. "The Savior was right! In forty years, no one's helped me but this boy!"

'_What the_,' Zuko thought, '_What is he talking about?' _as began picking up the cabbages as the man cheered in delight. After he finished putting the cabbages back in the stall, he stood up and tapped the elderly man on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," Zuko started, "But what 'Savior' are you talking about?" The elderly man turned around, stunned.

"You haven't heard?" he inquired.

Zuko sighed."No, I haven't. I'm new to Ba Sing Se."

The elderly man smiled. "Well, the Savior is a women who can air bend! Can you believe it? Air bend! And-"

Zuko cut him off. "That's impossible," he said, "The Avatar is the only air bender left. All the others were killed off a hundred years ago."

The elderly man chuckled. "That's what I thought, too, until I saw her! She's amazing, she really is. You should see her!"

Zuko turned his head, half-expecting a female version of the Avatar to jump at him from the woodwork. When none came willingly, he turned back on the old man. "Where is she?" he inquired.

The elderly man pointed down the cobblestone road. "Down there, that's where all of the street performers are. She started there, and people had their skeptics, until she did her act. Weird thing is-"

Zuko cut him off, again:"Sorry, gotta go," and he ran off to see this girl for himself.

The elderly man stood there, then returned to his stand. "Weird thing is," he mumbled grumpily to himself, "she says she ain't an air bender."

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Lots of thanks to my beta reader, theAsh0. She's helped me a ton, so watch out for more re edited chapters. **


	2. Chapter 6:Author Notes

Author's Notes:

Hi everyone! Just an FYI, (cause I forgot to tell everyone), I have a beta reader now, and she is helping me re edit this story. So, I won't be releasing any new chapters for a bit because I'm making a new version of the story. I'll give another author's note when the story (the one so far) is done with re editing. Luckily, I'm almost done with re edits, so a new chapter will be coming, just not extremely soon.

-iheartcrona123


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